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Photonics Dictionary: M

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multiple wavelength interferometry
A specific form of phase shifting interferometry - commonly referred to as multiple wavelength phase shifting interferometry - this form of interferometry utilizes two short wavelengths to synthesize...
machine vision lens
A machine vision lens is a specialized optical lens designed for use in machine vision systems, which are used for automated inspection, measurement, and quality control in industrial applications....
magenta
The reddish/purple color that results when equal amounts of blue and red are combined so that no one wavelength dominates.
mandrel wrap test
A means of testing optical fiber for macrobending losses by wrapping the fiber once at very low tension around a mandrel, and then measuring attenuation vs. wavelength.
mass spectroscope
An instrument that uses electromagnetic fields to sort out the relative masses of atoms and molecules.The same way an optical spectroscope uses a prism to separate light into its various wavelengths,...
material dispersion
The dispersion attributable to the wavelength dependence of the refractive index of the material used in any optical application.
MCT
mercury cadmium telluride — Mercury cadmium teluride (HgCdTe) is a specific alloy combination that allows one to obtain any optical absorption bandgap of the material between 0 and 1.5 electron volts (eV) making it completely transparent at photon energies and wavelengths below the energy gap in the infrared.
medical lasers
Medical lasers are devices that produce intense beams of light with specific characteristics and properties, which are used for various medical applications. These lasers emit light in the form of...
MEMS fiber optic switch
A MEMS fiber optic switch is a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) device designed to selectively route optical signals between multiple fiber optic channels. These switches utilize miniature...
meta-optics
Meta-optics, also known as metasurface optics or flat optics, is a branch of optics that involves the design, fabrication, and utilization of artificial structures called metasurfaces to control and...
metalens
A metalens, short for "metasurface lens," is a type of optical lens that uses nanostructured materials to manipulate light at a subwavelength scale. Unlike traditional lenses made of glass or other...
metallic mesh filter
An interference filter in which a very thin metal foil with a periodic array of square holes (inductive mesh) or a thin plastic substrate with an array of metal squares (capacitative mesh) is used as...
metamaterial
Metamaterials are artificial materials engineered to have properties not found in naturally occurring substances. These materials are designed to manipulate electromagnetic waves in ways that are not...
metasurfaces
Metasurfaces are two-dimensional arrays of subwavelength-scale artificial structures, often referred to as meta-atoms or meta-elements, arranged in a specific pattern to manipulate the propagation of...
micro-ring resonator
A micro-ring resonator is a compact optical device that utilizes the resonant behavior of light within a small ring-shaped waveguide structure to selectively enhance or filter certain wavelengths of...
microbending
In optical fiber, sharp but microscopic curvatures that create local axial displacements of a few microns and spatial wavelength displacements of a few millimeters. One frequent cause is longitudinal...
microcomb
A microcomb, short for microresonator frequency comb, is a novel photonic device that generates a precise series of evenly spaced optical frequencies, akin to the teeth of a comb, across a broad...
microheterogeneous systems
Extremely small organic and inorganic systems of molecules within a substance. In general, systems are colloidal size in spite of the large number of molecules. Photochemistry and optical...
microlithography
A technique for producing micron-size structures on surfaces by using short-wavelength light or electron beams.
microresonator frequency comb -> microcomb
A microcomb, short for microresonator frequency comb, is a novel photonic device that generates a precise series of evenly spaced optical frequencies, akin to the teeth of a comb, across a broad...
microscope, electron -> electron microscope
A device utilizing an electron beam for the observation and recording of submicroscopic samples with the aid of photographic emulsions or other short-wavelength sensors. With the electron microscope,...
microwave
An electromagnetic wave lying within the region of the frequency spectrum that is between about 1000 MHz (1 GHz) and 100,000 MHz (100 GHz). This is equivalent to the wavelength spectrum that is...
mid-infrared camera
A mid-infrared camera is a type of imaging device designed to capture images in the mid-infrared (mid-IR) spectral range, typically spanning wavelengths from approximately 3 to 12 µm. This...
mid-wave infrared
MWIR stands for mid-wave infrared, referring to a specific range of wavelengths within the infrared spectrum. Infrared radiation is categorized into three main regions based on wavelength:...
Mie scattering
Mie scattering, named after the German physicist Gustav Mie, refers to the scattering of electromagnetic radiation (such as light) by spherical particles. Unlike Rayleigh scattering, which is...
minimum angle of deviation
The smallest angle through which light is bent by an optical element or system. In a prism, the angle of deviation is a minimum if the incident and exiting rays form equal angles with the prism...
minimum spot size
The smallest linear diameter to which a laser or other beam of radiant energy is capable of being focused, depending on the quality of the focusing optics, aperture and focal length, beam irradiance...
mode
1. The characteristic of how light propagates through a waveguide that can be designated by a radiation pattern in a plane transverse to the direction of travel. 2. The state of an oscillating system...
mode beating
In optics, "mode beating" refers to an interference phenomenon that can occur in laser systems with multiple longitudinal modes. Longitudinal modes are specific electromagnetic field patterns that...
mode hopping
Mode hopping in the context of lasers refers to a phenomenon where a laser system abruptly switches from one longitudinal mode to another. In a laser, different longitudinal modes represent distinct...
mode-locked lasers
Mode-locking is a technique used in lasers to produce ultrashort pulses of light with durations on the order of picoseconds, femtoseconds, or even attoseconds. This method synchronizes the phases of...
molecular motor
A molecular motor refers to a nano-sized device composed of organic molecules or other small-scale components that can convert light energy into mechanical motion at the molecular level. These...
monochromatic
Composed of one color; having only one wavelength of radiation.
monochromatic illuminator -> monochromator
A monochromator is an optical instrument used to isolate and select a narrow range of wavelengths from a broader spectrum of light. The term monochromator is derived from "monochromatic," meaning...
monochromatic light
Light consisting of a single wavelength or a very narrow band of wavelengths.
monochromator
A monochromator is an optical instrument used to isolate and select a narrow range of wavelengths from a broader spectrum of light. The term monochromator is derived from "monochromatic," meaning...
monomode optical waveguide -> single-mode waveguide (or fiber)
An optical waveguide in which only the lowest order bound mode, which may consist of a pair of orthogonally polarized fields, can propagate at the wavelength of interest.
MSM photodiode
A metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) photodiode is a type of photodetector that consists of metal electrodes on a semiconductor material. Unlike the more common PIN photodiodes, which have a P-type and...
multianode microchannel array detector
A photon-counting instrument for use in both space-borne and ground-based photometric and spectroscopic instrumentation. This style of detector is composed of opaque photocathodes for photon to...
multijunction device
A photovoltaic device that consists of multiple p-n junctions to produce a greater efficiency when in use than that of traditional single junction devices. A multijunction device is unique because...
multiline
Describing a laser that emits simultaneously at more than one wavelength.
multiline laser system
A multiline laser system refers to a type of laser that is capable of emitting multiple discrete wavelengths or spectral lines simultaneously. Unlike single-line lasers, which produce radiation at a...
multimeter -> optical multimeter
An instrument that measures several optical parameters, such as optical power and wavelength, with a single measurement input.
multiplexing
The combination of two or more signals for transmission along a single wire, path or carrier. In most optical communication systems this is referred to as wavelength division multiplexing, in which...
multispectral imaging
Multispectral imaging is a technique that involves capturing and analyzing images at multiple discrete spectral bands within the electromagnetic spectrum. Unlike hyperspectral imaging, which acquires...
MWIR
medium-wavelength infrared; mid-wave infrared
Mylar
E.I. duPont's trade name for a polyester film. The most practical beamsplitter for use beyond the 15-µm wavelength because of its high efficiency. It exhibits high visible transmission, allowing...
Photonics DictionaryM


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